Definitions of Love: A Ray of Something
by Sawlt to Your Suger
Summary: A "Definition of Love"--first in the series. Takuma/Senri-centered, examining friendship. Compliant thru chap 40 ish. Lime. "How could he give chocolates to Senri if they weren’t speaking?" EDITED: same plot, a few new words. Should I lower the rating?
1. Scarred

_First things first. Hello readers and welcome to the edited and finalfinal version of my first Definition of Love: A Ray of Something, featuring Senri Shiki and Takuma Ichijo._

_THIS STORY TAKES PLACE ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS AFTER CHAPTER 40 (which I've read through scanlations). ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T READ TECHINICAL CANON UP TO THIS POINT, I ALSO DIDN'T RELY HEAVILY ON ANYTHING SMALL AND TRIVIAL THAT COULD HAVE BEEN MESSED UP BY TRANSLATORS. ANYWAY, THAT MEANS **SPOILERS** FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ONLY READING THE ACTUAL MANGA THAT HAS BEEN RELEASED IN PRINT IN ENGLISH. I TRIED TO FOLLOW THE CANON._

_**DISCLAIMER:** I'm no genius. Leave that to Matsuri Hino. I might add that the people who do the anime aren't geniuses either, and none of this story is based on the anime at all. Because, face it people, the anime version is shaat. :D Anyway, I still didn't create the characters and stuff. Matsuri Hino. -insertapplausehere-_

_Yes, this has been edited. I first posted it in MARCH of this year. But now that it's summertime, I've decided to update it. I wanted to make it current with the latest chapter, mostly because of something to do with one character. I also wanted to change the citrus scene. It is now a lime, but you can skip that chapter if you want (chapter 10)._

_Right, there is a little violence, and, as I said, a citrus. The entire chapter of which you can skip, though it really IS non-explicit. __And, without further ado, I give you the prologue. Reviews are lovely, by the way._

_--(my name is) Inconsequential._

* * *

**Scarred**

The scar on my thumb was carved into me on my eighteenth birthday with a cake knife, innocently inflicted by Senri Shiki. It didn't heal, I don't know why. The mark is often hidden by these strange gauntlets, part chain, part cloth. It was Kaname's idea to dress me differently, when Rima complained about my lack of fashion knowledge. She is all model, but for her it is different. She is a vampire obsessed with her natural beauty; and that of the vampires around her. I am apparently too human to care about my appearance, so Kaname dresses me up like a bondage slave instead. It's not that I don't dress well, it's more that my clothes don't suit me and clash with the beauty of a vampire. Not that darkness quite meshes either, but they think it applies to something about me. What that is I can't be sure. Perhaps the president hopes it will hide my happy humanity—my non-threatening air. But it does not. My endless cheeriness shines through, a ray of sun in the ever darkening sky. I am Takuma Ichijo, vice president of the Night Class.

_xox_


	2. Pt 1: Chocolate

_Prologue finished, on to the story._

* * *

**A Ray of Something (_You Know the One_)**

-A "Definition of Love"-

**Chocolate**

Currently, the chain of the dark gauntlets was stretched across Takuma's thumb, half covering the long, dark scar that bent gently around the curve of his lithe finger. The thumb had hold on a flower-shaped, soft gingerbread cookie. His teeth sank into it lovingly, savoring the tangy taste. Why even _bother_ with chocolate? Takuma would choose gingerbread over chocolate any day and _everyday_. Especially St. Xocolatl's Day. Normally, he gave all of his chocolates to Senri Shiki, a few to President Kaname Kuran, and he might share with the cousins, but this year his pile of boxes lay carelessly on the floor, hinting at the number of admirers who didn't know him at all. He couldn't share them this year. Not with Shiki at least. How could he give chocolates to Senri if they weren't speaking?

Takuma stared down his nose into the manga before him. Some girl in love with a gay guy who was just faking it. _Yadayadah, blahblah_. It wasn't his favorite, but he'd been in no mood to actually look for something worthwhile. Half of his good stuff was from Senri anyway, and he didn't really want to think about the younger vampire. Anyway, he'd be getting new manga soon: his human birthday was in three weeks. Which was actually surprising; normally it came a lot closer to St. Xocolatl's Day. The holiday came early that year, according to the calendars.

Unlike most vampires, Takuma had taken to celebrating his birthday every year, like any human would. Though they thought it strange, the other vampires in the night class accepted this—yet another chance to dress in their expensive formal clothes and party late into the night. Headmaster Cross didn't mind this either. Despite what he thought, he didn't have nearly as much power (if any) over the vampire half of Cross Academy. The only reason almost no humans were fed upon had nothing to do with the old man. The only reason had a room joined to Takuma's. (Now. The previous year, Takuma had shared a room with Shiki.)

"Enjoying your chocolates, I see."

Takuma looked up; a pair of brilliantly raspberry red-tinted dark eyes glinted down at him, forever tired, forever burning with slightly-concealed energy. The eyes of Kaname Kuran-sama. The pureblood and president of the Night Class at Cross Academy. A troubled vampire, to be sure.

"Nope."

Despite wishing he'd given the chocolates away to the cousins or something (the sweets' presence a physical reminder of the cold relationship he now shared with Senri), Takuma was still beaming. It took a lot more than some disgusting chocolate to get him down. On the whole, he was a happy fellow. Manga excited him, hunting Level-E's gave him the sort of adrenaline rush he needed every few months, and he hadn't experienced that gross thirst for blood in quite a long time. Unlike his companions, the blood tablets satisfied Takuma enough, he didn't mind them, and didn't feel insulted or ashamed by having to take them.

"I got these from Rima." He waved a hand to the box of non-chocolate cookies. "She left them for me."

The pureblood smiled, his head tilted to one side.

"Not like that," Takuma laughed, sitting upright and dropping the manga onto his bed. He swung himself up and around, sliding off the silk covers with ease. The cookie in his hand disappeared beneath his fangs. "No! She just knows I hate chocolate. And I think she's sorry about the whole fashion deal. Not that I mind," he added thoughtfully, "I like it. You certainly know how to make one look moody and hot at the same time." He stuck out his tongue, still peppered with a few crumbs of gingerbread. The pose wasn't at all moody, but Takuma always pulled off hot; even when he was being stupid. He was a vampire, and vampires were always gorgeous.

"I'm sure some of your, what does Rima call it? _Natural beauty_ adds to the look," replied Kaname smoothly, helping himself to a small chocolate. Though he too secretly detested ninety-nine percent of the chocolate _he_ received on St. Xocolatl's Day, the sweet itself was a welcome treat, just so long as it wasn't delivered by a bloody fangirl who couldn't even pronounce his name right and looked like she was about to die.

"Right," grinned Takuma demurely, "and what would you know about this natural beauty stuff, Kan-sama?" There was no doubting that Kaname was attractive—though Takuma wasn't interested in his friend past the close platonic relationship they already had—the pureblood president had certainly captured and reined in the power of his natural beauty without any help from Rima. His lover, Yuki Kuran-sama had done so as well. She wore fabulous clothes and every girl envied her for her beauty and the hand that held onto hers. The hand of Kaname. Apparently their beauty wasn't enough, Yuki took much pleasure in outfitting Takuma in the brooding, statuesque loner stereotype that Takuma now appeared as, especially when he was reading one of his bloodier manga and completely ignoring the world around him.

Kaname did not answer, but returned to the previous statement involving Takuma's sexual interest—or lack thereof—in Rima.

"I realize that neither you nor Rima are at all interested in each other in _that_ way," the inflection on the second to last word made Takuma grin, "However, I thought I'd see how much headway you'd made on those abhorred chocolates of yours. None, I see." Kaname helped himself to another small truffle, cracking past the outer layer of dark chocolate to get to the custard inside.

"I'm glad that the president's observation skills are still intact. Actually, I was thinking I'd take a few to Rima, seeing as she was so nice as to give me the cookies. Right! I knew I was forgetting something when I sat down to read this," he waved the cheesy manga, "Well, no time like the present, isn't that the saying?"

Kaname shrugged, angular, sharp shoulders rolling by his neck, a movement all the vampires knew to be only Kaname's. His shirt barely rumpled as he did it, though the dark fabric moved back and forth. He was not wearing the mostly white garb of a night student, instead choosing to wear the loose fitting pinstriped button-up shirt, and a pair of off-white pants. "I don't know. I think she might be occupied."

"Nah, it's only seven and a half, the sun's only about to come up, and class ended about four hours ago. What could she be doing? No one does homework past dinner, and that was at six. She's probably just digesting some nice blood tablets. And nearly-raw steak. That was a good dinner."

As Takuma reminisced, Kaname went to draw the blinds. It was actually eight oh eight, and the sun had already cleared the horizon. He winced as he neared the windows, but Takuma didn't seem to care about the light invading his room.

"I don't think you should just _go_ to her dorm," Kaname said. The room went dark as he tugged the heavy curtains together. Takuma ignored him. He was also the only vampire who got away with it, too. Probably because Takuma only ignored him on rather unimportant topics, such as the visitation of a girl's room to give her unwanted chocolates. The keyword being unwanted; had there been no _unwanted_ Takuma might have heeded Kaname's warning.

"Whatever, Kan. Care to read this manga? I don't remember why I got it. But you might like it, if you enjoy being out of the loop, having no idea what's going on, but _still_ knowing what's going to happen because the plotline is that obvious." He scooped up several boxes of sweets. Dropped a few in the process. "Oops. Whatever, perhaps Yuki will like it." Kaname chuckled, and turned on his heel, knowing he would not bother to contradict his friend any further. Instead, he walked through the door that adjoined their rooms, and left it partially open.

"Do what you will, Takuma," came his voice from the other side of the wall. Takuma switched off the small light by his bed and left without as much as a bye. Kaname hadn't listened for it. He kissed his sleeping Yuki on the head, and nabbed a few more chocolates from the dilapidated pile in his friend's room before following the seemingly innocent vice president, chancing a glance at the manga on the bed as he strode past.

xOxOx

The Moon Dormitory was a spectacular building and area. The surrounding grounds, separated by a sort of gateway from the day student's dorms, were full of luscious, large trees, brooding in the same way Takuma was supposed to brood. In the way most of the vampires brooded when feeling foul or desperately craving blood. The trees provided shade from the sun, when most of the vampires slept, though some snuck about, dealing with their misgivings.

It seemed that no matter the weather, whatever sliver of moon visible in the sky would always shine in the night, eerily creating strange shadows. In the sun, everything seemed overly dry, except for the trees, which towered over the grounds, obscuring the secrets that slept in the Moon Dormitory. The students of the night-class, the deadly blood-thirsting monsters. The vampires; and the leaders, the purebloods.

Takuma liked walking about at sunrise. As he strolled outside, taking the long way to Rima's room, as opposed to simply walking the halls, past the main living area, he felt the tingle of heat from the life-giving orb warm his chilly skin. Behind him, Kaname shielded his eyes and slowly padded after in pursuit. Meanwhile, the trees stood sentinel, knowing all and saying nothing. Majestic on even the most brutal of days. Just like the vampires the trees haplessly guarded. Beautiful and brooding.

xOxOx

When he reached Rima's room however, Takuma wished he'd listened to Kaname's warning. Rima sat on the bed, partially dressed (but mostly the opposite), and around her what once made the semblance of a male night-class uniform lay here and there. The white sleeve of the jacket was just covering her big toenail. She quickly sat up as the door popped open, scrabbling about to cover herself.

"Takuma?"

Takuma, having pushed the door open with his back so as not to drop the chocolates, was fully several feet into the room when he swiveled around to meet the most awkward scene of his life so far. He promptly dropped the chocolates.

"Oh."

"Kaname-sama?" Rima looked past Takuma to the dark-haired figure. Takuma turned too. He hadn't noticed Kaname following him. "Shit," continued Rima, oblivious to Takuma's confusion, only noting that of her leader's. "Did Shiki come to you or something?" Her cheeks flushed as she uttered Shiki's name.

Senri was here? panicked Takuma, slowly backing to the door. Why would Senri be here? Reaching it, he stepped into the hallway and was nearly smashed by none other than Senri Shiki, who'd just rushed to the room. They stared at each other.

"Ichijo? What're you doing?" Senri scratched his tousled hair, shocked and breathless, in only slacks and an undershirt.

"Please come here, Shiki," murmured Kaname from inside. The vampire complied hastily. He left Takuma, but the scarred vampire had already begun a sprint straight back to his dorm, where he threw the gingerbread away and wished he'd just eaten the damned chocolate.

_xox_


	3. Pt 2: Secrets

**Secrets**

Zero, alone now that Yuki's true vampire form had re-awoken, stared down a pack of Day Class girls. They whimpered.

Eight o'clock at night, the time by which the Night Class was forced to rouse itself from sleep, dress in white uniforms, and languidly strut to school, past squealing girls and heartsick boys. Humans, wishing they could be as beautiful as those strange night students, who were, by the way, vampires. A secret not meant to be shared.

The supermodel-worthy students would smile, wave, and even, in a few cases, blow kisses. Senri Shiki and Rima Toya would not only strut _like_ super models, they'd do it the right way, because they had the fortunate occupation of modeling. It was the Disciplinary Committee's job to keep the two (is species quite the right word?) groups separated and safe. Once upon a time, the Disciplinary Committee had consisted of both Zero and Yuki, but with Yuki's awakening, Zero had been given the job and the Headmaster was not ready to trust anyone else to be Zero's partner. Since Yuki's change, and the appearance and following loss of his twin brother, Ichiru, Zero was volatile at best, and, though he missed Yuki terribly, did not mind the solitude of his job. His constant anger did frighten off some of the day students, for which the Kurans were always grateful.

Though Yuki was obviously trying to hide it, Takuma was aware of her longing glance at her once-close friend, and guardian, Zero, who stood, not proud, but presentable, in front of a gaggle of high-pitched female humans, who angrily demanded he step aside. The president smiled, noticing this too; no hint of the fangs that lay beneath his lips. Not for Kiryu's sake, though. No, Zero knew and kept the secret well—it was almost his, too. But seeing as the other students didn't know, it was best that sharp teeth stayed in.

Seiren and Ruka Souen paced respectfully near him, Seiren because she was his self-appointed (and very skilled) bodyguard, Ruka because she felt she must be with him, if not romantically, then at least as a friend. She no longer glared coldly at Yuki, who had slowed her steps as they passed the lone DC member. Ruka stood by the Kurans, proud to be under their aristocracy. Seiren's eyes blazed into Zero's. She would never forgive him for threatening the pureblood the previous year on Takuma's birthday, the same day Takuma'd received the cut. She would never forgive the once-human for any threats. Not until he proved his worth.

In front of them, looking gorgeous, Hanabusa Aido and Rima Toya sauntered together, both talking quietly. Rima was just as embarrassed as she had been the previous night; stumbling on the heels she, as a model, was so accustomed to walking in, and kept peeking over her shoulder at Takuma, reddening with every look. He focused on Kaname's back, a few meters ahead of him.

"Good evening, Ichijo," Akatsuki Kain, Aido's elder cousin, another blond, eased into step with the vice president. "Pissed off? I'm surprised." Though mellow, he never meddled with pleasantries, always speaking plain truth. His laid-back, cool attitude often caught him unawares in less-than-pleasing situations for which he was blamed—mostly his cousin's misgivings. These mishaps earned him the nickname "Wild" from mislead day student fangirls.

Behind them, the other students of the Night Class flowed towards the school doors.

Senri Shiki walked alone, licking his fangs unconsciously, a nervous tick he'd developed the first time he denied himself blood from a living creature. (It had been a thirteen year old day student on the second night of Shiki's first year at Cross Academy. Ichijo, already used to the massive change in sustenance, had been there with him, begging him to leave the kid alone. And so Shiki had, instead taking him to the Headmaster where his memory could be erased. The two vampires had been close ever since. Until about eight months ago.) Shiki cleared his throat and continued to move his tongue. He wished he didn't have to wear the horrendously thin, but stiff, jackets that always constricted him in the heat and failed to shield him in the cold. Ever since being possessed by his father, his senses had become heightened, acute, and when he was very tired, paranoia overtook him. The little stint involving Takuma and their crumbled friendship didn't help.

After reliving the same memory Shiki had, simply from noticing the other vampire's anxiety, Takuma shrugged and drew on a smile pinched at the corners. He nodded at Aido, who had just fallen back to whisper some joke pertaining to squealing fangirls into Kain's ear. Aido pointed, laughed hysterically, checked the slow-to-grow only-partially amused grin on Kain's face, and then turned to Takuma.

"I hear you had an interesting sunrise, Ichi," chuckled the wispy haired idol, draping an arm over his shoulder amiably. Takuma glared at him, catching another glimpse of Shiki.

"I don't want to talk about it." (A cliché to match all clichés.)

"Jealous much?" grinned Aido, prodding Takuma in the side. He raised an eyebrow, eyes twinkling in delight.

"I am not jealous," snapped Takuma, picking up his feet to stand beside Kaname, who inclined his head, eyes wistfully straying to Yuki, who hesitantly turned on her heel and began to make her way toward the silvery-haired Disciplinary Committee boy.

Takuma watched the president chew his lip, a pointy fang testing the strength of the skin there. Kaname and Yuki's history was complicated at best, but Takuma was a vampire, and he understood their bond. And then there was Yuki-sama's stale relationship with Zero Kiryu. Though Kaname and Zero hated each other, and constantly bickered over Yuki—bicker being a word that stretched over guns and crazy bodyguards—they couldn't actually hurt each other. If they did, it would destroy Headmaster Cross' peace ideals. And, in truth, Yuki wouldn't be able to forgive whoever ended up winning, even if she was engaged to, and seemingly preferred, Kaname.

Sighing, knowing that his troubles were so unimportant in comparison to Kaname's, Takuma nodded to Seiren, who graciously held open the door to allow the president and vice president to pass. She twitched her neck in a stiff reply, keeping her eyes on the rowdy group of human fan-people. He followed her gaze, but continued when her eyes stopped on the Disciplinary Committee, his own lighting on Shiki, who was know exchanging a few quick, anxiety-filled words with Rima. At this, Takuma turned rather faster than he had intended, knocking into Kaname, who steadied his friend.

"Are you okay, Taku?" Kaname asked, hand on the manga-lover's back, standing inside the door to wait for Yuki. Takuma grinned awkwardly, but kept his head down the rest of the day and told no one of his disquietude, though everyone realized something was off. Although Takuma lacked the darkness of most vampires, when he was sad, he simply acted like an angst-ridden human and still seemed to differ from those of his kind. Kaname allowed him space to breath anyway. He respected Takuma and did not plan on barging into his best friend's emotions. What Takuma needed was time, a need Kaname knew all too well; Takuma would have all the time in the world.

_xox_


	4. Pt 3: Sleep

_This one makes more sense with the coming of another Definition of Love._

* * *

**Sleep**

Curled up in the shade of a tree, sans manga, surprisingly, Takuma looked at the grass, and felt its vague warmth. It had been raining earlier, and though he was completely muddy, the grass he'd kept dry still contained some of his warmth. Hearing voices, he ceased his quiet, forlorn hum and raised his head. Rima and Shiki walked together, conversing inaudibly, even to Takuma's well-trained ears. She seemed shaken, though the awkward encounter had been several days previous. Takuma resisted the urge to get up and demand what had been going on. Instead, he glared at the pair for a while before slowly creeping back to his dorm.

Kaname lay on the floor, stretched through the door, his head on the carpet of his room, bare feet on that of Takuma's. He looked exhausted, breathing heavily, hair strewn across his face, forever stylish, but a bit tangled in the back. Takuma sighed, and wondered how much effort it would take to get his good friend to bed without waking him. How he'd ended up in that position, no one could guess, but Takuma assumed Kaname had been waiting for his return. Glancing at the clock, Takuma noted that it was three in the afternoon. Everyone should be sleeping. He should have been sleeping long ago. Luckily he'd finished his homework earlier in the night, but he realized that four hours of sleep would not make his already fragile, quiet state any stronger. However, he took the time to heave up the limp Kaname, bracing himself on the door frame. With a bit of difficulty, he got his friend onto the bed, smiling at Yuki, who woke for a moment to wrap her arm around the president's. After a moment of looking down on them, watching their eyes flicker from the disturbance, Takuma straightened the straying locks of dark hair and gently thumped Kaname on the chest.

"Sleep well my friend, I know you need it."

Returning to his room, Takuma left the door wide open as he stripped out of his muddy clothes and pondered a shower. Not a bad idea, but it was quite late; he could shower in the evening. His indecisiveness wasted six minutes, and three minutes after that, scalding hot water poured onto his hunched back. He marveled at the heat as it seared against his skin, sliding along every curve and muscle of his body, attempting to soothe him. When he slipped back into his room, towel draped idly on his hips, Takuma fell into bed, groaning as he sank deep into its warmth, drowning in silk and down.

_xox_


	5. Pt 4: Subject

**Subject**

At breakfast, Takuma tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes, but failed. Next to him, Kaname looked just as exhausted, angrily pushing Ruka away from him, telling Seiren she didn't need to follow him all the time, and refusing to eat anything other than his usual evening blood tablet. As they grumbled their way toward class time, Takuma wondered why he'd bothered to get up for breakfast at all. He could have slept an extra hour, and all of the vampires had blood tablets in their rooms, a requirement from the Headmaster. Sorely annoyed at himself, he left the table early, catching glimpses from several of the other vampires who couldn't understand how he could be so human—exhausted at night—and decided to stroll slowly to the school.

His phone whirred in his bag and he had half a mind to ignore it, but the sound cut into the sweet silence of the night. The screen blinked in the darkness, signaling a missed call from Seiren, probably to ask what was wrong with Kaname. Bored, with nothing better to do, Takuma dialed her number. Halfway through the first ring her husky voice demanded answers.

"What the _hell_ is going on with Kaname-sama? He's acting like a teenage girl! What, has he got his period or something?" Though she was probably enraged at the pureblood's blatant treatment of her only moments ago, Takuma couldn't help but laugh silently at her accusations.

"Something like that, I suppose," came Takuma's broken reply as he coughed against the back of his hand.

"Well then he should go to the back dorms and spend his time there until he's done being a little pussy," she growled from the other end. Takuma felt like barfing at the idea of anything from between a girl's legs, though he was amused by the pun.

"Why don't you suggest it to him?" ventured the vice president, sighing. He might have been grinning, but he still felt broken. Seiren, rather astute when she wanted to be, recognized the slight stumble in his words and slowed down the conversation.

"Is there something wrong with you, too?" she asked simply, no longer loudly lashing out.

"No," he said, all too quickly, and revised his answer. "Yes. I didn't get to bed until late. I'm just tired. I don't know what's wrong with Kaname, though, but if he sheds any light, I might think about telling you."

"Might think," with the possibility that there was something seriously wrong with Takuma out of Seiren's mind, the annoyance and fervor returned. "Hell yeah, you might think, the same way you might think that getting your sack twisted hurts like hell." Hell seemed to be her favorite word today. Seiren was, by far, the most vulgar speaker in the night class, of those vampires within Kaname's inner circle. Still smiling despite his sorrows, Takuma hung up. He saw her in the back of his mind screaming at her phone. When Kaname was off, there seemed to be a ripple affect. But only Takuma realized that Kaname was more often off than on.

xOxOx

After school, Kaname and Takuma walked alone out the doors, late to leave class. Kaname hadn't the temper to deal with Ruka, who, unlike Seiren, did not have the sense to leave him alone once he'd asked her to the first time, and so both president and vice president had hidden away in the men's bathroom until there was no possibility that Ruka would have stuck behind. However, Zero Kiryu and Yuki Kuran stood conversing not far from the entrance. As Kaname walked by, Yuki slipped away from Zero.

"Kaname-sama," she murmured, touching his elbow with her soft fingers. Kaname jerked around, not quite expecting his lover to be the speaker. Yuki was still in awe of the other vampire, and used honorifics even after he'd told her they were far from necessary.

"Oh, hello Yuki, I thought you went to the back dorms at lunch?" A tired smile invaded the lips that had frowned the entire day. Takuma slid over toward Zero, hoping to keep the scene peaceful. He could still hear the quiet conversation, his sensitive ears picking up sounds humans couldn't hear, and even some vampires couldn't either.

"No, it hasn't started, as I thought it would, and when I found out you hadn't come out of school, I thought I'd come over. I ran into Zero and we were talking." She nodded cheerily to Zero, who didn't look at all happy with Kaname's interruption and presence. "Though why you were loitering around in there..." The girl trailed off, eyes lighting on the big doors of the school.

The Pureblood smiled, touched her cheek.

"Why are you angry?" Yuki's boldness never ceased to surprise Takuma, though he was fond of it. No one ever seemed to be so honest around the president, except maybe Kain, simply because Kain didn't bother to cloak his words in anything. Even Takuma, his closest friend since many, many years ago, was never so up front, not in the presence of others.

"I'm not angry," lied Kaname, running his fingers through her hair. "Come, let us go back to the dorm." Yuki nodded, but her eyes slipped from his face as though she felt Zero's rapid approach. Takuma made to stop him, but a movement from Kaname changed the vampire's action. Instead, he fell beside his leader, between the pureblood and the once-human.

"Good morning, Zero Kiryu," said Kaname, unperturbed by Zero's fiery glare. "I'm sorry to have broken into your conversation, if you would like to continue it..." He left the sentence unfinished, taking his hand from Yuki's cheek and slowly heading toward the Moon Dormitories. For a moment, Yuki hesitated to follow, but all present knew what the outcome would be.

"See you, Zero," she whispered, before running off after her lover. Takuma grinned at the Zero haphazardly, not sure if there was anything he could say. Finally, he simply left, hoping to gesture the stiff, constricting silence away with a wave. The jerk of his hand did nothing but fan the air.

xOxOx

"What was that all about?" Takuma asked, having finished his dinner, now dawdling over some history homework. Kaname sat in one of the chairs in Takuma's room, watching the strange-haired vice president fail to work. The unannounced subject was clear to both of them. Luckily, she was away, probably hoping to catch Yori before the day classes started.

"She thought she was going to have her period," answered Kaname, shrugging, shifting so that he now faced the plant that grew from a large pot situated next to the chair. It was obviously well tended for, as were the others of the same type in the room. He reached out to pull on one of the blue blossoms, but Takuma's outburst brought his hand back to the arm of the chair.

"Don't touch that!" Kaname smiled idly, drumming his fingers, waiting for his friend to explain. "My grandfather brings these for me when he visits."

"I see you take painstaking measure to make sure they're in tiptop condition. What is it?"

"Don't change the subject! I figured she thought she would, you mentioned the back dorms. You know what I meant. Your little mouth-off to Kiryu about Yuki."

"I was simply laying out choices," shrugged Kaname, looking back at his friend.

"For Zero or Yuki?" pressed Takuma, skeptically.

"Yuki has already made her choice," replied Kaname, once again focusing on the strange choice of plant life in Takuma's room. He'd seen them before. He knew the story. He also knew not to talk about them anymore. And that, if he did, he could shift his companion from any topic, no matter it's importance.

"Then why," Takuma asked, slightly annoyed at his friend's vaguely conceited air, "do you keep testing her?"

Kaname reached forward again and poked one of the blossoms.

"Kaname!" All thoughts of staying on subject imploded in Takuma's mind as he glared at the pureblood over his shoulder, trying to extricate himself from the chair and desk in order to get physical.

"Flax, right?" The president shrugged, composed and seemingly oblivious to his assistant's anger.

Giving up on freedom from his seat, Takuma nodded, teeth gritted.

"Isn't that used to make clothes and produce seeds and such?" asked Kaname, still calm.

"Yes. But my grandfather splices them. The ones he brings me don't fully develop seeds so I don't have to harvest them or whatnot. But I have to _cultivate_ them anyway, if needed. And I'd prefer that they don't die. The last time Senri was in here, he ripped off several of the blossoms and knocked over the pot of the newest one that I had on my bedside table!" Kaname raised an eyebrow, languidly rising from his seat. Takuma fumed at the memory, not yet shocked by his mention of Senri.

"Does that have anything to do with why you two aren't talking?"

Takuma returned to his schoolwork, whistling off key, breathing too often to really pick up the pitch. The shock set in. Kaname took hold of his friend's shoulder. The vice president looked up, hair falling away from his eyes. The look on Takuma's face was one that only Kaname had ever seen. It was one of pure pain, fear, and exhaustion. Takuma Ichijo was a ray of sunlight, not a pit of darkness. Only Kaname, and perhaps Shiki, before their little spat, had seen Takuma brood like the vampire he seemed so far from being.

"Yes. That's the answer, isn't it?" Kaname leaned against the desk, looking down on the maps and timelines spread across it. Takuma stood up abruptly, stepping away.

"I didn't say that," he snapped warningly, "And you changed the subject! Kaname!" As if Kaname could be threatened. He tilted his head, waiting. Takuma realized that his friend wasn't going anywhere. "I didn't say that." Kaname nodded.

"True enough. But I know the answer. The answer is yes."

"Not exactly," murmured Takuma, his will faltering under Kaname's sympathetic eyes. "To some extent, I suppose, yes, that has something to do with it." Takuma's eyes lit on another one of the flax plants. He didn't take a deep breath, or make any attempts to follow up his thought with a thorough and light-shedding explanation. Kaname hadn't expected one. He didn't expect a lot from Takuma when it came to anything involving Asato Ichijo. He knew that Takuma still needed time, so he skirted the actual situation, skipping to a conclusion.

"So, why don't you talk to him about it? Hasn't it been almost a year?"

"Other things came up," Takuma scoffed, though he'd had no intention of talking to Shiki, simply because Takuma was not a often a bold person.

Kaname smiled, it was a beautiful smile. It was also extremely saddening, as though Kaname knew exactly what Takuma was talking about, could see through Takuma's carefully worded not-quite-lies, to the complete truth. Or had troubles of his own that produced feelings that mirrored Takuma's.

"Yes, they tend to do that," sighed the pureblood, rousting himself from his lean. He extended a hand, tapping it against Takuma's jawbone. "I'll leave you to your thoughts, then, Spark." It had been a long time since Kaname had used the nickname. Ages. And vampires knew the meaning of _ages_.

Kaname drew the other man into an embrace, nestling his chin in Takuma's hair. Takuma shuddered involuntarily, the exhaustion and sadness getting to him. "Yes," added the pureblood quietly, drawing back and leaving the room. "I'll leave you to your thoughts." As always, the door stood slightly ajar.

_xox_


	6. Pt 5: Unannounced

**Unannounced**

The moon rose, sank, followed by the sun, once again followed by the moon. All the while, the trees stood silently, bowing to the wind, but keeping secrets.

Several rises and falls of the two main orbs in the sky passed before Kaname and Takuma spoke again. They'd been busy. Takuma's birthday was coming up, and he still hadn't said a word to Senri. Also, Rima kept attempting to talk with him, only to be thwarted by none other than Senri. With each incident, Aido seemed even more gleeful, and Senri even more enraged.

"Maybe he's jealous?" They'd been talking for at least two hours, and Kaname had said the exact words fourteen times. Takuma was counting. Yuki wasn't present, but the two had been over to the back dorms to drop off some of Takuma's less-favored manga and brush her hair, a ritual Kaname had started the previous year. The whole time they'd talked about it Yuki hadn't said much, and Takuma had been glad to get away from the awkward smell of her menstrual blood.

"Yes! We already went through this. She's his modeling partner. Of course he's jealous. Among other reasons." Takuma already had his theories on who Rima had been with that night, and why she was suddenly making passes at him. They weren't attempts at flirting, as Senri seemed to think, they were questions of forgiveness and an unspoken apology about him having to walk in on the scene. And Senri was just pissed off that she wanted to communicate with Takuma, since the boys were still ignoring each other.

"Well, you're the one who brought this up, and I can't think of anything else. If you're so sure, don't keep bringing us back to square one," Kaname shrugged. Takuma couldn't stop himself from wanting to pummel the pureblood, who acted as though nothing was going wrong. Kaname had been there, had talked to Rima about the situation, and probably knew exactly who Rima's bedmate had been, but of course was simply grinning an actually happy smile, while pretending to help his friend with technical difficulties.

Takuma groaned, stretched, and copied the leader's movement. "It's almost noon. I'm tired." Kaname was looking at the flax again, though this time through the door into the vice president's room. Takuma opened his mouth to protest the beginning of a new subject, but Kaname shot him down as he spoke.

"You haven't, by any chance, talked to him yet, have you?"

Takuma shook his head. Kaname laughed as Takuma stomped back into his own bedroom. "Stop it, Kan-sama!" He sounded like a child, but Kaname adored him.

xOxOx

A while later Kaname slumbered peacefully in his bed, curtains drawn to protect him from the sunlight. Takuma had already done the same, but sat, partially dressed, on the end of his bed, picking at his scar with his index finger. The gauntlets lay on the floor, his shirt was halfway unbuttoned. He didn't continue to shed it. Takuma glanced toward Kaname's room, pulled the door halfway closed, and left his dormitory.

When Senri opened the door, wearing only pajama bottoms, hair matted on one side, Takuma wanted to smack him upside the head, but he ignored the urge. Senri, on the other hand, tried to push him out, failing as Takuma shoved past him into the room.

"Why the crap are you here? You must realize its noon and a half," growled Senri, scratching his dark, nearly purple-hued, brown hair. He flung himself back onto the bed, sitting up against the headboard. Takuma took up residence on a desk chair. "Who said you could sit down?" He stood back up, retreating to lean against the door.

"I need to yell at you," replied Takuma. The best thing, he thought, would be to pull a Kain and get it all out as fast as possible. The younger boy jumped up from the bed, rounding on his adversary.

"_You _need to yell at_ me_? Oh yeah, well I need to yell at you, okay? I mean, what the crap—" Takuma cut in, staring at the raging near-aqua blue eyes that flamed defiantly up at him.

"What the crap what? What the crap was I doing cutting in on your sex sesh with Rima?" The words reverberated off the walls, echoes stilling to silence as Senri's eyes grew wider.

"Cutting into my—my what? Oh, you mean the other way around? Yeah! You just sleeping around, and with Rima of all people? We model together! I've known her since I was very, very young! Since before we modeled. We're like, life partners." Takuma raised an eyebrow.

"My point exactly, and you share more than just life," he spat, slapping Senri hard across the face.

"I didn't even think it was you," Senri snarled, "I just walked in on her; we don't really do the whole privacy thing. I've seen her naked, I mean, we've done nude modeling together! It's not that hard. Normally she doesn't mind if I come in unannounced, but she screamed and was all, go away, and I come back, and you come out of the room! Holy shit! Takuma! I thought you were better than that!"

"Wait, you think _I_ slept with Rima? Fuck no! I don't like her! She makes me dress like an absolute ravage minion just because you two can't stand me not having control of my _natural beauty_. I'm surprised you're not nailing her into the pillows right now!"

The fight spewed out of control, neither quite realizing what their accusations meant. That someone else had slept with Rima. Someone who was neither Takuma nor Senri. When they finally realized this, Takuma became even more enraged. He held up a fist, punching Senri in the stomach. This surprised them both, mostly because Takuma was rarely violent—at least outwardly and certainly not physically.

"You thought I was low enough to go sleep with her, even when I knew how well connected she was with you? I don't even like her! I don't like any of them! How could you think things like that about me?" The vice president bore down on the model, who kept up the fight, screaming.

"You utter hypocrite! You thought I slept with her too!"

Takuma laughed coldly. "I would never do such a thing to you! You should know that! I saved your life!"

Suddenly, Senri—who had barely laid a hand on the other—whirled around, hitting Takuma full on the mouth. A trickle of blood spilled from his lip.

"I know that Takuma! Before you had to get all fucking defensive about your grandpa!"

"Do _not_ bring him into this!" Takuma felt the blood hurtling from his mouth; wondered how Senri could resist it. There had been a time when Senri would have done anything for a single drop of Takuma's blood.

Once again, Takuma raised his fist, bringing it down on the other's shoulder.

"I will bring him into it if I want!" The smaller vampire cried out savagely, stepping back. "All you do is what he says! Its _his _fault you had to save my life anyway! You never give yourself a chance beyond spending time with Kaname-sama!"Senri took a shaky breath.

"Don't bring Kaname into this either!"

Senri's eyes filled with anger, he trembled, ignoring the smell of blood that seemed to drown him.

"Kaname is the only one your grandpa approves of, and only because old master Ichijo wants some pureblood to keep him alive a little longer!"

Takuma balled up his fists at this insult, but bit his already bleeding lip, knowing that if he spoke, there would be no stopping the rage that surged through him, threatening to tear him apart.

"What does Kaname do for you?" yelled Senri. "How come you're so special to him and he's so special to you? What does he do for you that any of us can't? Might I remind you he's the one who tried to kill me! Albeit because I was possessed, by his uncle. My father!"

"Kaname does a lot for me! He does way more than you do! He may have hoped to destroy Rido, but Kaname saved you in the end! He doesn't tip over my plants and insult my grandfather."

"Tip over your plants? Oh. So this isn't just about Rima. Damn it. You know it wasn't my fault eight months ago. You know I almost died."

Takuma continued, ignoring the other's words, too caught up in the heat of his own wrath.

"He respects me for who I am, and he listens to me. He respects my decisions! Kaname-sama's _there for me_! You're not there for me, Shiki! Ri, you are never there for me!"

Flinging himself forward, Senri slammed Takuma into the door, the knob rattling from the force.

"I can't support you. You won't let me! Don't think I forgot you saving my life. Takuma, I would go _miles for you_! No, you've got granddad to do it for you. Granddad and Kaname. You don't need me! Of course, if you cared at all, you would trust me!"

"You don't trust me!" Takuma yelled, not believing that even though some of his blood had landed on Senri's face, the other vampire had done nothing about it.

"You may have saved my life, Ichijo, but your grandfather nearly took it away again. And you stood up for him. Still do. Listen to yourself: _tip over your plants_. How can I trust you after all of that?" Senri shoved one last time, before turning away from the blond, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand. "Get out."

"I didn't—"

"Get out. I don't care anymore. I could go miles for you, Takuma Ichijo. But you won't let me. So get the fuck out."

At first, Takuma stepped forward, but when Senri looked up, blood smeared on his face, hair frazzled and sticking to the side of his head, all Takuma could see in the vampire's eyes was hatred. A shade of hurt. Not a hint of blood-lust or regret. With that glare, Takuma twirled on his heels and dashed away. He heard the door slam, the noise ringing in his ears as he ran back to his dorm.

_xox_

__

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Smackdown! Explanations in the next chapter.


	7. Pt 6: Manipulation

_This chapter didn't change much._

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Manipulation

Resisting the awful temptation to cry, Takuma rushed into his room, banging the door shut with a crash almost as painful as the wrenching hurt in his chest. He winced, realizing that with the sun so high up in the sky, Kaname was still sleeping. When he glanced at the door between the two rooms, however, Takuma did a double take, staring at the non-existent gap between frame and door. It was _never_ closed. Kaname trusted Takuma and Takuma trusted Kaname. Even on their worst days, they left it open just a crack.

The thought of trust reminded him of the words that had passed between him and Senri moments before. Unwanted tears squeezed past his eyelids.

Looking through the tears, he knew that there was no crack. At some point during Takuma's absence, the door had been shut.

Figuring it to be a mistake, perhaps caused by a draft, Takuma stepped forward, hoping the stinging pain in the back of his eyeballs would go away. He placed his hand on the dark, polished wood, trailing it down to the shiny door knob. But a muffled growl stopped him from finishing the movement. His palm remained firmly against the wood, and his ear soon joined.

From what Takuma could hear, and with acute hearing, he could hear quite a bit, Kaname had good reason to close the door. Moans of pleasure that surpassed vulgar, broken by panting and bed springs emanated from the other room. Takuma was suddenly thankful for the separation between him and the lust-filled noises that penetrated his ears. He wondered what the Headmaster would do when he learned that Yuki and Kaname did not share a chaste relationship, especially since he'd granted Yuki permission to sleep in the Night Class dorms. There was strange blood in the air—not just Kaname's, which the vice president recognized instantly. Takuma shuddered at the idea of what the Kurans were doing. Quite accidentally, he sucked in his breath. As he was about to turn away, the noises softened.

Takuma heard a near-silent whisper gush from Kaname's lips—_quiet_. However, after a moment or so, the groans picked up a bit.

The listener backed away and fell onto his bed, unable to forget what he'd just heard, but also unable to forget his shouting match with Senri. He wondered how many students they'd woken with their angry shrieks; how many the Kurans might wake with their activities. Frustrated by the day's events and Kaname's _unavailability_, Takuma kicked off his pants and curled up in his bed, instinctively grabbing a manga. But he then remembered how he'd failed to finish his homework, instead spending the time discussing Rima's true interests with Kaname-sama. He collected his papers and crossed his legs in the desk chair. It would be a long afternoon.

xOxOx

Takuma Ichijo's grandfather, Asato Ichijo, the giver of the strange flax plants, wanted power. He was one of the oldest vampires in the senate and controlled and manipulated everyone possible. This included his grandson: sending him to Cross Academy with the pureblood vampire from whom Asato hoped to receive blood. Though Takuma had made friends with Kaname independently, years before any vampires began attending Cross, Asato was more than happy to learn that his young, seemingly too-human grandson not only knew but had befriended one of the last pureblood vampires. Even though Takuma tried to shield his friend from his grandfather's blatant propositions for blood, Asato still came every few months to once again ask.

Every time, Kaname turned him down.

Takuma was embarrassed at his inability to save his friend from his grandfather's blood-lust and power-hunger. All of the other vampires close to Kaname and the vice president saw it. The cousins certainly did, though they came from a family who opposed the senior counsel openly, and were already more than infuriated by the old vampire's proposition. Ruka wouldn't allow it, being infatuated with Kaname meant only she could drink his blood, though she never had. Even now, her obsession having turned into friendship, she was disgusted. Of course, Seiren stood by the president's side as she always did, an unwavering enemy to any of his. And Senri Shiki watched; annoyed that Takuma put so much trust in Kaname, when he could do nothing for the president but watch helplessly as his grandfather came time and time again.

Because, secretly, Takuma was also scared.

There were few things that could thrust darkness into Takuma Ichijo's life. But even now, arrested for his plot against the Kurans, awaiting execution, his grandfather was a streak of black on Takuma's otherwise colorful painting. Senri, friends with Takuma and there for him when Kaname could not be (which was often, though Kaname's help always seemed greater), strove to change that. He hoped that perhaps he could steer Takuma away from Asato's manipulations and power, allowing Takuma room to breathe. This had been before Asato's arrest.

For a while, it worked. Takuma came out of his shell, thwarted his grandfather; refused the latest flax plant, wouldn't let Asato see Kaname. The plant appeared in front of Takuma's door and even when Takuma and Senri dropped it into the pond behind the Moon Dormitory, another replaced it. Finally, Takuma was forced to take it in. He put it on his bedside table. Asato Ichijo arrived the next morning. Once again, Takuma refused to let his grandfather meet with Kaname, but this time, Takuma got a punishment for it.

When Senri entered the room later the plant on Takuma's bedside table spurted deadly tendrils and tried to strangle him. Senri's rare blood powers allowed him to destroy the plant, which landed on the floor, along with the pot; shattered into hundreds of pieces, but not without a struggle that left the vampire unconscious for days, and weak for the months to come. Had Asato realized that the plant's adversary would be Shiki (and had known Shiki's abilities), the elder would not have made such a mistake. Senri's survival was pure luck.

After Senri regained his health and composure, he confronted the vice president. A fight ensued involving Takuma's defense of his grandfather and Senri's begging that Takuma destroy all the plants and never speak to Asato Ichijo again. Takuma ordered his friend out. Senri never came back.

That had happened four months after Takuma's eighteenth birthday (his true birthday, his vampire birthday). After the cut. After Shiki had to be saved (by Takuma) from Kaname's hope to kill the demon possessing the younger vampire, Rido Kuran. After, in turn, Kaname saved Senri by waking Rido. After Senri had continued to be Takuma's loyal friend, and Level E Vampire hunting partner, even after being possessed and still not quite recovered. After the one-second kiss that left them a bit breathless and a bit insecure. After Senri had confessed that he loved the taste of Takuma's blood; that he'd give anything to taste it one more time. After Takuma, so much like Kaname to Asato, had refused.

They hadn't been to each other's rooms since. Had barely spoken. Nor when Asato was taken custody, and Takuma was freed from the harness of his grandfather's evil, did they exchange a word.

And now Takuma stared at the scar on his thumb, his homework finished (or at least as finished as it would get), once again drowning in his bedding. This time, however, a blood stain browned around where he'd pressed his mouth. The remnants of the blood from his cracked lip.

_xox_


	8. Pt 7: Click

_This is a combination of two chapters. The first of the two was seriously edited down--it delved in to Kaname and Takuma's friendship, and I wanted to save that for another Definition of Love. Now, this chapter sheds some light on the subject too._

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Click

When Takuma woke, the door was once again open. Only Kaname's light breathing could be heard from his dorm, but Takuma felt too dizzy and sick to get up and ask about the strange sounds he'd heard. Two days until his human birthday—an unimportant event, but one that would still be celebrated, for the fun of it. He was seriously craving some gingerbread. Anything to make his life a little sweeter.

Normally, Takuma liked Thursday nights. They meant that there was only one more night of school, and he could easily sneak off campus during the day after classes without worrying too much about homework (he could do it over the weekend if he didn't finish it all, because most of the professors didn't mind late work). As he sat up in bed, lips still crusted in blood, he hated waking up at all. Remembering the truth of Senri's words, the way Senri didn't even taste the blood that landed on his face. The Senri that Takuma knew would have stopped the fight there and sucked up all the blood he could. His resistance was enough to remind Takuma harshly of how something had changed between them.

Kaname woke shortly afterwards, and heard a soft crying from the room over. He climbed from his tousled bed and slipped into Takuma's room. Two of the five flax plants were torn to pieces, and the one by the chair had been tipped over. Next to it, Takuma huddled up against the wall, tears streaming down his face, wetting the once-dried blood on his lip, which was also bleeding fresh from the grimace that caused it to crack.

"You talked to him?"

Takuma looked up, nodded once, wiping at the red liquid on his mouth.

He winced when the pureblood sat down beside him, brushing away a few shards of pot and dirt. Kaname wrapped his arms around his best friend, feeling the tears drip onto his own skin, smelling Takuma's blood. As though he sensed it, Takuma lifted up his stained hand.

"Senri didn't want it."

Kaname nodded slowly. Takuma blathered on, wishing that Senri had not resisted, that there was something still connecting them—even if it was the younger vampire's gross thirst for his friend's blood.

A few minutes later, when Takuma's sobs had lessened, Kaname stood and left. Takuma glanced after him. The door was wide open, and Takuma had unanswered questions involving Kaname's activities. But he said nothing, instead staring once again at his scar

Though he was supposed to heal, all the wounds inflicted by Senri didn't seem to. His lip was still cut, something that should've been smooth in minutes. And he had a scar from a petty slice.

xOxOx

"Hey, Ichijo, how's life?" Aido strolled along beside the down-hearted vice-president, who ignored the question. "Seriously, I don't get it. I thought you were jealous of me, but even with Rima trying to get to you, you don't take the bait!"

Stopping in his tracks, Takuma turned his head toward the blonde heart throb. "Pardon, Aido? Bait?" Aido grinned, eyeing the puzzled Takuma.

"Yeah. I mean, when you showed up with all those chocolates at Rima's door, I supposed you'd come to do what I'd been about to do. Of course, since you so rudely interrupted, Kaname has barred me from her dorm until your birthday." Aido shrugged. Ever since Senri had been freed of his father's soul, Aido and Kaname's close relationship had returned to its previous, vaguely haphazard friendship. They couldn't quite trust each other, but Aido would do anything and everything for the president.

"Wait—I wasn't, I don't like Rima! Rudely interrupted—Aido?" Takuma was one of those people whose thoughts were plain in his mind. If he were to add one and two, the click when he realized the answer was three would be audible. As it were, Takuma's latest answer clicked in his brain rather agonizingly. "Were you the one in Rima's room? When I came? The one whose jacket was—was on the bed?"

Laughing, Aido nodded, missing Takuma's utter confusion and the guilt that settled with the rest of Takuma's mixed feelings at the bottom of his stomach.

"I was so excited when I saw how jealous you were the next morning. Rima felt so bad, though, she's just trying to be nice. Apparently its coming off all wrong," Aido rolled his eyes.

"Yuki."

They had reached the gate, and there was Yuki. She had apparently ventured from her safe house in the Headmaster's building in order to greet her lover. The vice president blushed, remembering the noises he'd heard—and then wondered why she'd bothered to go back to the back dorms, so late in the afternoon the previous day. Or perhaps she'd been in the room that evening, but Takuma had been too preoccupied to notice.

Aido became a bit more jumpy. He and Yuki didn't quite get along. Yuki often tried to keep him in line more than any of the other vampires, though this was an outcome of their strained relationship, rather than a feed to it. He was also one of the few who'd tasted her blood—that being a feed to the problems they had. As per usual, Kain had gotten in trouble for that one too.

As the Kurans embraced, Zero's eyes lit up and his lip twisted in a snarl, and both Kain and Aido were standing between him and the hug within seconds. The once-human turned his back to the scene, scolding a few whining girls who were jealous of Yuki's luck and privileges of becoming a night student. Takuma ignored it all. He couldn't bring himself to talk to the president, not after his rough morning. Kaname did as much as he could him, when he had the time. And, of course, Takuma could do nothing back.

It seemed Senri got it all wrong. Kaname did everything for him. Takuma was the one who failed to repay his friend.

_xox_


	9. Pt 8: Resistance

**Resistance**

"Happy near-birthday, Spark!"

Moonlight filtered in through the windows, as Kaname thrust the curtains open. He tousled the vice president's hair and dragged him out of bed.

"And on a weekend too," he attempted a smile as he pushed his friend toward the bathrooms. "Everyone is ready for a party tomorrow night, but today I think we ought to go into town today. Anyone you want to bring with? Too bad Yuki can't come." Takuma stripped himself of his clothes and pulled the shower curtain closed. The sound of water was the only answer Kaname got.

When the vampires had first come to Cross Academy, they hadn't celebrated human birthdays. But being immersed in the traditions of the humans around them, some of the vampires chose to do so. For vampires, their true birthday celebrations normally lasted much longer than a simple human day, starting at night and ending perhaps a week later. However, it being Takuma's human birthday rather than an actual vampire year (as it had been twelve months previous) his birthday would be Saturday night (and Sunday morning). Kaname wasn't going to let the hours go by without a huge vampire party. And a shopping trip. Luckily, most of the good stores in town opened early and closed late. And all the restaurants and cafés seemed to have hours just for vampires.

"Any clothing requests, then?" No answer. "We could bring Shiki along to help."

"No!" The answer was terse, dead-panned and monotonous.

xOxOx

They returned around eight in the morning on Saturday, much to Zero's disapproval. The disappearance of seven major Night Class students would've angered the Headmaster, and since they'd promised the discipline they'd be back by six, Zero Kiryu was beyond impatient. They appeared at the school's gate, however, and climbed out of the two cars. Zero motioned to the drivers, night class students as well, to park the school's cars in the lot behind the main dormitories. He then asked for a private word with the president.

Takuma was feeling slightly better than he had been, and adored the newest addition to his _natural beauty_ complementary clothes: a pair of blue, black, and white plaid pants, sewed to fit him exactly how he wanted them to be. Rima had picked them out, and seemed less flirty—friendlier now that he actually talked to her, and had forgiven (and apologized to) her for the moment he'd walked in on. However, he was quite puzzled. They'd talked about the chocolates, but she couldn't seem to recall giving him anything for St. Xocolatl's, stating that she knew he didn't like chocolate, but had no idea he was a softie for gingerbread. They hypothesized that Kaname had left them in hopes to bring up the other's spirits.

The vice president also hadn't seen Senri anywhere. And he didn't seem to be at the party when Takuma emerged from his dorm to find most of the vampires awake, roaming around in the main hall, awaiting the birthday boy. The party didn't start until around midnight, but everyone congratulated him anyway, and only left the hall to change just beforehand.

Not much to congratulate him on, Takuma thought. Still eighteen vampire years, then some as a human. Still not quite back to normal.

It was four am when they got to cake cutting and birthday singing. As he stood on the podium next to the cake, he noticed Senri half hidden by one of the potted trees, a drink in his hand; pain and something like mirth in his eyes. He was not singing.

Kain had an arm wrapped around Takuma, holding out the knife. Takuma didn't do anything, he simply stared at Senri across the room, not quite realizing that he was supposed to cut the cake. The song ended, and clapping pursued it, however, it slowly faded. Takuma looked around, breaking eye contact with the other vampire, and reached for the knife, still at a loss.

"Aren't you going to cut the cake?" asked a voice. Suddenly, Senri was standing below him, setting his drink down on one of the tables, the other vampires nodded, crowded around the podium, beaming up at Takuma.

"Don't you want to, Shiki?" Takuma held up the knife, motioning for the younger boy to join him on the stage. Senri shoved Kain out of the way, smirking.

"Might as well," he replied, taking the knife in his hand.

"Pushy," grumbled Kain, now flanking Kaname, whose other side was accompanied by the idol. Kaname smiled.

"It's all right," the president whispered, watching as Senri slowly slipped the knife into the cake. One time, then another. He slipped the piece onto a plate and held it out for the birthday boy.

"Happy birthday, Takuma." Once Takuma had the cake in his hands, however, Senri left the podium, and didn't seem to be in the room. Takuma ate his cake in a daze, Ruka taking over the distribution.

xOxOx

Kaname sat beside his best friend, finished with the vanilla and raspberry goodness that Takuma loved so much. The blond's slightly-messy hair fell over his eyes, wisps of it hanging forwards, as though not attached to his head. The candlelight hit it, causing different parts of it to light up. The vice president's eyes were closed, he was lost in thought. Kaname rubbed his friend's back for a moment, studying the face. After that, he stood and made his way through to crowd, offering his hand out to Yuki for a dance. Takuma's eyes did not open until much later, when he slowly made his way to Senri's room, in hopes of finding him there. No such luck.

At around nine in the morning, sun shining through the windows that had failed to be shut, vampires sleeping in their party clothes on couches in the main hall, others doing raunchy things in darkened rooms, Takuma retired to his own, alone. The Kurans had long since gone to bed, but Takuma didn't mind. Kaname had cleaned up all the plants that had been destroyed on Thursday, but hadn't even touched the other ones. On Takuma's desk a box in wrapping paper, similar to those that scattered the rest of the hallway outside his door, waited for him.

When he opened it, three manga fell out. The beginning of Yu-Gi-Oh, a series that Takuma only avoided because he didn't want to be addicted to card games. Or the series. This was apparently quite addictive. A note from Kaname was attached to the first volume. _Resistance is futile._ The note had more meaning than one. Takuma hoped his friend was right.

_xox_


	10. Pt 9: Delicious

_This is not the citrus. That's the next chapter, so don't skip this one. (Ps, it's only a lime anyway, you really ought to read it.)_

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Delicious

The main hall was cleaned up, wrapping paper properly recycled, presents stored, furniture moved back, food removed, by school time the following night. Most of the true Takuma was back, sunshine in the nighttime. Sure, he wasn't quite the same, there were a few clouds, but he felt better. He was even planning on wearing the new pants after school, and Rima approved heartily when they entered the building together.

The fangirls seemed extremely annoying that day, but Takuma didn't mind. Zero became increasingly agitated, causing several of the younger girls to cry. Surprisingly enough, Kaname walked over, squeezing the once-human's shoulder for a second before turning to the humans and commanding that they leave at once. Only Aido noticed and raised an eyebrow, lowering it cautiously and continuing to flirt with a group of human girls.

"Hanabusa!" Kain called to his cousin as he loped behind. Rima chuckled.

"He'd never do anything, not now," she whispered into Takuma's ear, alluding to what Aido had once done. Takuma grinned, happier by the moment, feeling the peace that seemed to emanate from the very air they breathed seep into his pours.

"What do you want, Akatsuki?" The blonde idol caught hold of Rima's hand and smiled broadly toward the tall "Wild" boy. Takuma couldn't help but laugh at the sheer failure Aido made at pretending to be innocent. Kain rolled his eyes, turning to Ruka, who kept trying to break the current to return to Kaname. Although she was no longer infatuated, she was now avidly obsessed with flanking him, as the cousins often did. It drove Seiren up the wall at points when Ruka would take the bodyguard's seat or stand where only Seiren normally did. The president still stood beside Zero, asking the humans to leave.

When school ended they returned to the dorms, Takuma not quite believing that next year he probably wouldn't be attending Cross anymore, neither would Kaname, Ruka, or Kain. Still, the residual happiness had not quite rubbed off and when he slipped into Kaname's room to find it empty, he wasn't offended at all. Yuki appeared at the door, as he stepped out, and they exchanged a few brief words, all amiable. After this, he wandered down to run his fingers over the ivory keys of the piano that had been restored to its normal position in the main hallway. No matter that he'd never heard the melody he played, it came to him naturally. An original mixture of resonance in a minor key that ghosted around the idea of things lost. At first, he didn't hear anyone calling his name, his head filled with the sound of the music flowing through him into the world outside his mind.

"Takuma…?" Realizing that he was no longer alone, Takuma ceased his playing and turned to look around the room. "Up, Takuma" the voice prompted. He complied, tilting his head ever so slightly to look up the staircase, where Senri Shiki leaned over the banister on the second floor, a faint smile on his lips. "That was beautiful, Ichijo," he concluded after a moment, motioning for the blonde to come upstairs.

"Thanks." Takuma slowly climbed to Senri's level. "Why are you here?"

"Am I not allowed to be here?" asked the other man pragmatically.

"Senri…"

"I need to say something to you," replied Senri, as Takuma reached the landing and shuffled over to where Senri stood.

"Me too."

"I'm sorry," Senri whispered, taking one of the gauntleted hands and pushing aside the chain to touch the faint scar.

"Me too," Takuma repeated.

He followed Senri as the younger vampire led them to Takuma's room. He inclined his head when Senri raised an eyebrow for permission to enter. One of the windows was open, allowing a cool breeze to ruffle the vampires' hair. Senri shivered, and Takuma promptly walked over to the pane, pushing it shut. The sun shone through the glass, hitting their skin, rippling over their informal clothes, lighting Takuma's peridot-tinged eyes.

"There were more of these, last time I was here," murmured Senri, noting the absence of several flax plants. Takuma nodded, reaching out a hand to cup Senri's chin. He could see a fading bruise inside the collar of Senri's expensive, designer shirt. Watching Senri's face, he unbuttoned the first two buttons and pushed the fabric away to reveal purpling skin, not looking at it until the boy's shoulder was completely bare. He broke eye contact and glanced down at the large oval blotch, feeling the flinch as he passed his fingers over it.

"I did this," whispered Takuma, looking at the spot, unable to stop, his fingers curling around Senri's shoulder. Shuddering at the memory of his fist falling against the other's body, he turned away, back tracking to his bed. Senri made to cover the mark with his shirt once again, but did not button it up. He came to sit next to the manga-lover.

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry," Takuma replied, once again taking Senri's hand.

"I know," Senri felt the cake knife scar with his index finger, "I forgive you." Takuma looked up from their hands, intertwined.

"I'm sorry for everything. For what my grandpa did. For accusing you. For—for hitting you." Senri nodded. "For not trusting you."

"I'm sorry for not trusting you, too," mumbled Senri, growing red. "I'd still go miles for you, Takuma," he added, resting his head on Takuma's shoulder. "Thousands." Takuma could still see the bruise peeking out from under the garment. After a moment's hesitation, he leaned forward and kissed it. Senri gasped quietly, eyelids fluttering.

"Hold on," Takuma said, having a thought as he drew back from the other's shoulder. He stood up, hand still clasped in Senri's, surprised that Senri followed. They stood at the threshold of the door between Kaname and Takuma's room. After a moment, Takuma pushed it silently shut, turning the knob and feeling the final click signaling its complete closure. With that, he grasped Senri's wrist and gently put the younger boy's back to the door. "You can kiss me, Senri. I won't stop you this time."

Senri needed nothing more than that, his lips meeting Takuma's almost immediately, nearly cutting off the last word. While one hand stayed connected to Takuma's scarred thumb, the other one touched Takuma's ear, trailed along his jugular, felt the pulse, the blood rushing through him, and remained there. His tongue slithered between Takuma's lips, rubbing against sharp fangs.

Takuma groaned softly, stepping backwards and pulling Senri toward the bed. The other vampire complied, stumbling forward until impeded by Takuma's back on a bedpost. For a moment, he removed his mouth, and Takuma took the time to explore Senri's eyes. He never knew the blue color of the flax flowers could be so beautiful, but set against the black pupils of Senri's wide, aching eyes, the color surpassed any beauty Takuma had ever seen. Senri grinned, unbuttoning the rest of his shirt, revealing a few more bruises.

"It makes no sense, they should've healed much sooner," Senri said, looking down at the one just above and to the right of his belly button. Takuma looked pained, and flipped Senri onto the bed in order to kiss it.

"I thought that about my lip," Takuma slurred his words and he licked the bruise. "If I pick at it, it'll start bleeding." Without much thought, he bit at the scab on his lip, and a small globule of blood appeared. Senri moaned as the smell of blood strengthened in the open air. "Go on," grinned Takuma, causing more blood to seep from his cut.

"But you refused." Senri's face contorted beautifully as he longed to kiss the slightly swollen, bleeding lips of the man above him.

The vice president laughed.

"Fine, if you won't kiss me, then I'll have to kiss you."

Their lips once again met, and Takuma felt Senri's slick tongue lap at his slightly stinging cut. He chuckled into the kiss, groaning as Senri continued to lick down his neck where some of the blood had trickled. As Senri did this, Takuma flipped them over so that he was on the bottom, the blood-thirsty vampire still licking at his neck. This allowed the green-eyed man to slip out of his shirt, his muscular arms flexing as he thrust it aside.

"Bite me, Ri." Senri's head jerked up from where he'd been swirling his tongue over Takuma's Adam's apple.

"Are you sure, Taku?"

Takuma nodded, pressing his head back into the pillows, his hands taking hold of Senri's hair. "I trust you."

He guided the dark-haired vampire's lips to his neck. He could feel the boy's breath on his neck, sensed the hesitation.

"Senri, I trust you." His hushed, final tone made the fact sound like a threat, and suddenly he felt a tremendous pain in his neck as Senri inserted his fangs. He thrust his head back, arching upwards, hands tightening in Senri's hair, but the moan that escaped his lips was that of pure ecstasy.

Takuma listened to the new noise that filled his ears, a low hissing sound that grew louder and louder: his blood being sucked into Senri's loving, hungry mouth. Though all he could see was the sunlight hitting the boy's brown hair, turning it purple, as well as the bed canopy, stars shown in his eyes and then the rushing color of red took over his sight.

"You taste perfect," groaned Senri as he raised his head from Takuma's neck. The vice president had moved his hands down to the boy's hips and was in the midst of removing Senri's clothes. He sank his fangs into Senri without warning, slicing not into a main vein, but into the bruise. Senri cried out as his pants fell to his knees and he crashed down, his bare chest meshing with Takuma's. The elder licked at the wound.

"Delicious," he stated, rolling over on top of the completely naked Senri, whose four hundred dollar shoes fell to the floor along with his famous brand jeans. Takuma pushed off his own shoes and began to unsnap his plaid trousers, but stopped to admire Senri below him, the sun pattering across the mostly pale skin. A slightly-toned chest heaved, and vaguely shaped arms sprawled out against the pillow. A trickle of blood spilled onto the bed. "_You're_ marvelous," he added, pulling off his trousers, his shoulder and arm muscles rippling.

Senri ran a hand along one of the arms, causing Takuma to shudder at the contact. His own wound dripped onto the sheets.

"So this is the muscle that wields the ninjatō."

Takuma smiled, glancing for a moment to the long sword that hung beside his bed, within reach of his quick and agile hand. He returned his eyes to Senri's and lowered his lips to the other's once again, purposefully cutting his tongue as he rubbed it along one of Senri's fangs.

_xox_


	11. Pt 10: Perfect

_Lime. If you don't review any other chapter, please review this one if you read it. I completely rewrote the citrus for this fiction, as I hated my previous scene._

**

* * *

**

Perfect

Their bodies touched, rubbed, roused, and with every movement and shift, their need grew. After a while, Senri pushed quickly on Takuma with his legs, flipping Takuma to the pillows. Grinning, the vice president locked his legs around Senri's hips. They lay like this, licking at each other's blood, pressing themselves against each other, somehow hoping that they'd become one another. Senri's hands messed around in blond locks, Takuma stroked the boy's neck and back.

Suddenly, Takuma began to lick at Senri's chest, causing the blue-eyed boy to grasp hold of the covers to stop from tumbling down onto Takuma's face. Senri called out in want, head shoved into the pillow. He kneaded his fists into the sheets, raked at them, ripped, bit his lip, drew blood, all to keep from screaming. But the moment he had expected to do so never came. He felt kisses once again showering his stomach, nipples, neck, lips. Another hand pushed on his chest, pulling their mouths apart. Takuma looked into Senri's eyes, waiting.

Senri knew what to say.

"Takuma, I trust you, too."

For a second, they found utter bliss in that simple thought, in the promise behind it, and they both knew that the trust could last forever, if only they kept each other close.

In moments, they were joined, a writhing mass of heat and pleasure. Senri embraced and scraped his bedmate's back, pulling them closer together. They no longer tried to quiet their moans, and Senri knew he'd not be able to stifle his scream as it built itself up in his throat.

They rolled about on the bed, silken sheets forgotten, pillows falling to the floor. Legs wrapped around legs, and arms around arms, fingers brushed and touched and grasped. A gasp here, a moan there. A kaleidescope of their senses spun together what little they could see, beyond the blazing beauty of the other, as well as the intoxicating smells of sex and blood, the sounds of shallow, hot breaths, the texture of skin on skin, sweat and dry, cold and hot (so hot, so _burning_ hot). And that taste. The nearly overpowering taste of each other—so close, so sweet, so divine. The two vampires were encompassed and enslaved by it all, flush, body against body. Arching. Aching. Pleading. Needing. Wanting. Lusting. Loving.

As they drew nearer to satisfaction, their lips pressed harshly together, tearing and bleeding, a vain attempt to silence their vocalizations. Understanding that they were close, bodies tumbling back and forth, sideways even, Takuma grabbed onto Senri's hand, their fingers gripping maniacally. He kissed his way to the brunette's ear and whispered a command of three words.

"Don't resist me."

Senri screamed out incoherent thoughts, the only understandable word being "Takuma", as he threw back his head, digging his fingers into the other's hand, leaving several crescents in the vice-president's flesh. He fell to Takuma's neck, licking the wound several times more as per his bedmate's request, eyes closed as waves of delight shimmied through him.

Takuma scrabbled and arched against Senri, uttering one long, low, carnal moan.

They rolled side by side, legs locked together shivering as the air began to cool their heated forms. The manga-lover could feel Senri slowly sucking at his neck, vacuuming more fluid from the bite marks.

In a vampire's lifetime, he sees many human lives come and go. He may see the coming of new ages, of new technology, and new thought processes. He learns of new sciences that at his birth were identified as witchcraft, or something near-impossible—if they existed at all. Silly human diseases do not bother him, but he can survive and thrive and see the first appearance of such a disease and he will still be around to learn of it's cure, many years later. But a vampire, even, is still impermanent. At some point, he dies. He can die. Immortality is left to the gods alone, if there are any. And perhaps even they do not last forever. Nothing is permanent. Even a vampire's beauty will fade in death. All fades.

For the two vampires, lying together, however, there seemed to be all the possibilities lying before them. The cures to hundreds of diseases, thousands of new technologies that could help the modern world. And impermanence? Non-existent. As they clutched at each other, anything could happen, would happen. As far as they were concerned, this time would last for centuries, and they would live forever.

"I changed my mind," whispered Senri, without pulling his lips away. Takuma shifted, drawing the covers up around their bodies. When the warmth was up against their necks, Senri continued. "You taste better than perfect."

_xox_


	12. Pt 11: Linger

**Linger**

Darkness filtered in through the windows when Senri woke, legs still wrapped around his bedmate. Takuma was already awake, grinning slightly, his hand twirling bits of long, almost-purple hair onto his finger.

"Good evening, Ri," he giggled quietly, kissing the top of the messy-haired vampire's head. "Guess what we did yesterday afternoon?" The idea sent him into more fits of laughter, and Senri couldn't help but join in. "We did the _nasty_," whispered Takuma, emphasizing the last word as though it were deadly. He nodded seriously, and started laughing again.

"Was it good?" Two could play at this game.

"What do you mean, was it good? It was brilliant, Senri!" Takuma whacked him lightly on the head, before freeing himself from the other man's legs. "If you're not going to appreciate it, Senri, you might as well get up. We've slept through breakfast, and we've got to get to school in twenty minutes." He climbed out of the bed and hobbled over to the door, fiddling with the knob and opening it a tiny bit. Senri admired his naked friend in the partial moonlight.

"Oh. I just remembered…"

"Just remembered what? What we did last night?" Takuma gave him an incredulous look. "That's wondrous of you, Ri, I'm so surprised. In less than five minutes! A new record." Senri laughed and threw a pillow at him. It missed.

"No, I don't remember that at all"—this received a withering look and the pillow straight in his face—"But I do remember that I never gave you a birthday present." The vice president threw a manga at his bedmate for good measure.

"Of all moments, you're worrying about that now? I need a shower and so do you, but I'm one hundred and fifty eight percent sure that if we both go in there, I won't be able to stop myself from having my way with you _again_ and we really don't have time for that!" Takuma dragged the bed sheets away from Senri and waved his hands around. "Up, Ri, up!"

"That doesn't sound too bad," mumbled the no-longer bruised man as he stumbled out of bed, sans markings but still incredibly sore. Takuma kissed him full on the mouth.

"No! And stretching like that is not helping!"

"Who said I'm trying to help?" asked Senri innocently, continuing to thrust his pelvis as he leaned backwards. He closed his blue eyes and moaned seductively. He felt a kiss flutter on his stomach.

"Damn you! I'm taking my shower."

When he opened his eyes, the room was strangely devoid of Takuma. Senri shrugged, trotted off to his room, and retrieved one of his uniforms. He snuck into the bathroom quietly, and threw open the curtain. Only to find that it contained Rima and Aido in the nude.

"Get a room!" he yelled, catching a glimpse of a smirking Takuma several stalls down the line.

Instead of pouncing on his manga-loving friend (lover? was that what they were?), Senri showered alone leaving the curtain open, grinning every time he caught Takuma watching from his stall. He took several minutes to dry himself off, paying careful attention to his feet (in order to bend over) and then he dressed: shirt and tie first (without buttoning), pants slowly coming up over his precious derrière. Just as he finished clasping the decorative buttons and broaches, he felt a pair of arms reach around from behind him, taking the bottom of his shirt and slowly buttoning it up.

"Stop teasing me, Senri," murmured Takuma, right by his ear, tying the tie while deliberately lingering on the vampire's soft skin. Senri scoffed, lifting up his head to kiss Takuma's cheek.

"No way," cried Rima, "This explains _so much_!" Aido rolled his eyes and dragged her out of the bathroom.

"Hey baby, at least we know why Takuma was ignoring you." He turned at winked at Takuma, "Don't be late to class, boys."

_xox_

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_That was the cutsie chapter. Sort of the breather after the citrus. One more chapter to go and you're done!_


	13. Pt 12: Sunlight

**Sunlight**

Catching the tail-end of the every day parade into the school, Takuma and Senri did their best to act friendly, but not possessive around each other. Kaname seemed off again, but Takuma couldn't help being cheerful. He and Senri trotted down the walkway, completely ignoring fangirls, instead conversing happily with the vampires around them. When they passed the female Kuran, Takuma even took special care to wave and smile at Yuki, who, surprised but not displeased, waved back, chibi-eyed and quite girly, but sheepish too. Several of the vampires noted her smell in the air. She should still have been at the Headmaster's building, but Takuma paid the stench no mind. He even nodded at Kiryu, who replied with a stiff head-twitch.

For a moment, his hand brushed Senri's and he had the urge to take it, to hold on to it for dear life, but with an unsure glance from his friend, Takuma pulled his arm away, shrugging for the heck of it and tickling Kaname in the ribs. The pureblood's lips curved lazily upward.

"Did you enjoy the sunlight, Takuma? Shiki?" asked the president coolly, his grin settling smugly on his face.

"I enjoyed a ray of something, though if it was sunlight, I wouldn't remember, Kaname-sama," replied Senri, coyly boring his eyes into the leader's, as if to say, _you know the one_. And Kaname understood, chuckling softly as they took their seats in class, Yuki saying good-bye and leaving the building. The president paid her little attention, even when she kissed him on the cheek.

He inclined his head toward Takuma, who seemed unable to keep still, glancing over at the vampire he'd spent the previous afternoon with. It had been quite the glorious afternoon, if he remembered correctly, and he did. How boring school was going to be, when all he could think of was the noises Senri made when Takuma licked his neck just so. And how the younger vampire breathed as he slept, smelling of stale everything and looking every inch the model his was and then some.

The entire school night was spent making eyes and sending notes, and at one point Takuma got a giant paper cut, forcing several untrained students to leave the room, while Senri shook violently with the effort of not sucking the vice president into oblivion, in more ways than one.

xOxOx

Dinner was yet another affair that involved Takuma's temptation and Senri's antics. Kaname couldn't help but laugh at their bashful flirting that only a few understood. Aido and Rima were two of those few, watching with excitement and egging the two boys on.

"Cruel," murmured Kaname when they entered the dark grounds once again, Takuma next to him, the blonde cousins flanking their leaders. The vice president raised an eyebrow.

"Was that directed at me?" he asked, checking the pureblood's face for signs of illness or unusually strong fatigue. Kaname peered over through his hair, nodding after a moment's thought. Takuma grinned evilly. "I suppose so, yes," he said, running his hand across Kaname's shoulder. "But where's the fun without driving Senri crazy?"A little thump on the back for good measure.

"Revenge is certain," hummed Kaname, staring off into space. Takuma made a face showing his non-existent concern for Senri's revenge.

The pair walked in silence, a slow, snail-pace, stopping every now and then to feel the wind brush past and listen to it rustling the ever-guarding trees, warning those around of its presence. At length, the cousins sped up, realizing that perhaps the leaders weren't going to go directly to the dorm, and if they did, it would take them a good eon to do so. However, Kaname and Takuma did go to the dorms, the vice president kindly holding the huge door open for his friend. They moved across the tiled floor without a word, slid up the staircase more ghosts than living creatures. Finally, they came to a stop at their respective doors. Takuma gave his friend another reassuring pat, not quite sure what brought down Kaname's mood, but knowing all he could do was wait it out.

When Takuma stepped into his room, Kaname waved from the other side of the widely open door, suddenly much more relaxed than he had been outside; shedding the layers of responsibility he carried as president and pureblood. Takuma smiled back, shucking his uniform jacket and dropping his books. He selected the third Yu-Gi-Oh manga, which he'd planned on starting the previous day. Settling down on the bed, he noted the absence of the torn and bloodied sheets. When he asked Kaname about them, the pureblood smiled ruefully, and told him they'd been dealt with. Takuma didn't mind, and was about to put his head down when it bumped a small package resting on the pillow.

This one was not wrapped, simply tied up with a small, light pink—almost white—ribbon. A box of homemade gingerbread cookies, the shape of dainty flowers. Takuma tore the package open, taking a fast bite of the first cookie he could get his hands one. A familiar flavor seeped into his mouth, filling it with the oxymoronic tang of ginger and sweetness of the molasses. Not a hint of chocolate.

As he licked his fingers and reached for another cookie, he came in contact with a piece of paper.

From through the open door, Kaname called out, "Enjoying your gingerbread, I see."

Takuma had already jumped off the bed, leaving the neglected manga pushed halfway under the clean, white sheets. Yugi Mutou would have to wait. As the vice president sauntered past the doorway, heading for the hall, he grinned over at his friend, eyes bright.

"Not yet."

"Do what you will, Takuma," replied the pureblood, still smiling in spite of his previous mood.

All that could be heard were Takuma's excited, purposeful footsteps tapping toward a certain vampire's room. In his hand, the paper glinted in the sparkles of the fast approaching dawn. Carved in glossy maroon, a loopy, immaculate penmanship twirled the words _Happy Birthday_ onto the card; dark letters smelling of dried blood.

The first bright ray of sunlight spilled in through Senri Shiki's door as Takuma Ichijo thrust it open.

_xox_

_fin._

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_Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought. If you've read it before, perhaps you'd like to give me a brief review on what you think of it now? Thanks so much for sticking with me! Did you notice the use of the name-meanings? :D_

_--moi. (my name is) Inconsequential._

_Sawlt to your Suger, babes!_


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